How Much Can You Raise?

So how much money can you expect to raise through a Christmas offering? In general, with little planning or effort, you could raise two to three times your regular weekly offering.

You would be able to raise this amount simply by announcing the offering and providing a special envelope. On the other hand, if you are willing to put some time and energy into creating a plan now for your Christmas offering, you will be able to raise four to six times your weekly offering, or even more.

A Christmas offering is not like last-minute Christmas shopping. You may be able to get away with hitting the mall on Christmas Eve to cross the final few names off your list, but that kind of last-minute thinking won’t work if you hope to garner the full amount possible through your offering.

Pre-planning is key.  Ideally, you should use the month of November to ramp things up and then kick off the offering the Sunday before Thanksgiving, with the intention of running it through the end of the year or a couple of weeks into January.

In order to prepare fully for the blessing God wants to bring you, decide immediately to start pinpointing the causes you want your Christmas offering money to go toward and putting your plan of action in place.

Defining What the Offering Will be Used For

Before you understand the “what” of putting together your Christmas offering, you need to have a firm grasp on the “why.” Then, you have to be able to convey that “why” clearly to your congregation.

People give to vision. Why, specifically, are you interested in doing this offering? Why are you raising the money? What’s your cause?

One of the best causes to support with a Christmas offering is missions. You will be able to raise a lot of money for missions during this time of year. But that shouldn’t be your only cause. Instead of focusing solely on one area, choose several causes that will resonate with the different types of people in your church.

Different causes pull on different heartstrings in different ways. I suggest that you choose three to five causes to focus on. Make them heart issues. Causes and needs that ignite passion in people are the only thing that will rise above the noise and bustle of Christmas.

This isn’t the time to raise money for new pews or the Plexiglas pulpit you’ve had your eye on, but it is a great time to bring in money to help support a new church plant or revamp your programming for the elderly.

Choose one, primary cause and then two, three or four smaller causes. Let your people know that 50% of the offering will go to the one main cause, and the other 50% will be divided among the other causes. Also tell them that if things go really well – if you exceed your goal – that you will use some of the extra money to begin offsetting next year’s budget.

Speaking of next year’s budget, that’s a great place to find your causes. Pull out a couple of important, stand-alone items and make them the causes for your Christmas offering. You will be able to raise the money for them before the end of the year and take them out of the budget for next year, thereby freeing up your regular giving for additional ministry and opportunities God wants to bring your way.

As you pull items out of your budget and raise money for them through the one-time gift of the Christmas offering, you will be giving next year’s plans room to expand.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S.   For the ultimate guide to planning & conducting your Christmas Offering (including how to promote and challenge your church), click the link below to secure your copy of the BRAND NEW“How to Plan and Conduct a Christmas Offering” resource.  Order by THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 and receive over $935.00 in BONUS resources.  You’ll be mailed my BRAND NEW Hardback book (The Renegade Pastor, Retail: $19.95) plus get TWO FREE MONTHS in the Renegade Pastors Network!

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© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.